Low Carb Italian Chicken Cacciatore

l wanted something different and came across this recipe. It was for a family lunch in the garden served with vegetables, cauliflower rice, salad and steamed new potatoes for those that eat carbs. I simplified the method a bit as it appeared over-complicated. Instead of cornflour, I used tomato puree to thicken as cacciatore is usually tomato -based. It added half a gram of net carb per serving and a lot of flavour. This is a good recipe, full of flavour. It was a crowd-pleaser. Try it and enjoy. Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless-skinless chicken breasts
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
4 ounces green bell pepper about 1 med to large
4 ounces red bell pepper about 1 medium to large
4 ounces onion about 1/2 of a medium
2 cloves large garlic
1 tablespoon Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend (I didn’t make this as time was short)
1/3 cup sherry (we don’t use sherry, so I used more stock. Adding a little ACV helps)
1 cup chicken broth or 1 cup water with bouillon
1/3 cup olive oil divided, or bacon grease (I used lactose-free butter)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot (As it’s Italian, I used tomato puree to thicken it)
2 teaspoons water (Didn’t need this)

Method:

Wash the peppers and place together with the onion and garlic.(I prepared and weighed them first)
Dry the chicken breasts.(This is an important step so they brown)
Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, then cut into strips on the bias. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil over the chicken strips and mix.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend over the chicken and mix oil and seasoning into the chicken. (I didn’t make this, I mixed herbs and garlic granules)
Put a large saute pan over medium heat and let it get hot. Add 2 tablespoon of oil and roll it around the pan to coat. (I didn’t add this oil as I felt the chicken strips had enough oil on it). Add 1/2 – 1/3 of the chicken strips and brown in batches, cooking all the way through.(I added the chicken in halves and let it brown before turning it over). Add oil to the pan before the next batch, if needed. (This wasn’t needed).

Remove the browned chicken strips to a dish. Make sure to get them nice and brown – the bottom of the pan should have a nice golden brown colour when finished.
Next, add 1-2 more tablespoons of oil to the pan and begin browning 1/2 of the mushrooms.(I added all the sliced mushrooms and no more oil). Brown both sides. Remove the mushrooms from the pan, adding them to the chicken.
Pile the vegetables over the parts of the pan with the most browned bits. They will steam a little as they cook and it will be easy to begin scraping-up all of that caramelized goodness. Move the vegetables around the pan and cook them half way through. The onions will begin to soften and the peppers should still be firm.

Add the chicken broth, then the sherry, (I added extra stock) stirring the vegetables and scraping any remaining brown bits off of the bottom of the pan.
Add the chicken and mushrooms back to the pan and cover loosely with a lid, a piece of foil, or a sheet pan, to bring the mixture up to a simmer. Mix two teaspoons of cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) with two teaspoons of water to make a slurry. ( I aded a tablespoon of tomato puree which had negligible carbs/portion). Uncover the pan and add the slurry, stirring it in quickly. (You may want to add cornflour slurry but to me cacciatore is Italian and should have tomato in). Add the salt and let the liquid simmer for a 1 minute to thicken.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.
It’s quite a thickened sauce so some had it with cauliflower rice and others just on a bed of spinach or green leaves.
Serve & enjoy!!